Pope Palm Sunday: Jesus destroys triumphalism by his Passion14 April 2019, 11:04Pope Francis celebrates Mass on Palm Sunday (Vatican Media )Pope Francis during Mass on Palm Sunday tells the faithful, “there is no negotiating with the cross: one either embraces it or rejects it. By his self-abasement, Jesus wanted to open up to us the path of faith and to precede us on that path.”By Lydia O’Kane

Thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square for the celebration of Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday also marks diocesan World Youth Day and young people could be seen waving palms and olive branches as the sun beamed down.

As the “Hosanna” rang out a solemn procession saw Cardinals, priests, and ordinary men and women making their way around the Square. Following the Gospel, which was read by three deacons and recounts Christ’s Passion, Pope Francis in his homily recalled how Jesus in his entry into Jerusalem shows us the way with his humility in the face of triumphalism.https://zenit.org/articles/pope-francis-homily-for-palm-sunday-full-text/Pope Francis’ Homily for Palm Sunday: Full Text April 14, 2019 15:42

Pope to Youth: Let Apostolic Exhortation be a guide to faith and service14 April 2019, 12:45Pope Francis following the Angelus (Vatican Media)Pope Francis during the Angelus recalls that Palm Sunday is also diocesan World Youth Day and invites young people to live out the fruits of the Synod, in the form of the Apostolic Exhortation, Christ is alive.

During the Angelus that followed the celebration of Holy Mass this Palm Sunday, Pope Francis recalled that it was also diocesan World Youth Day and invited the young people present in St Peter’s Square to live out the words contained in the recent Apostolic Exhortation Christus vivit (Christ is alive), which was a fruit of last October’s Synod on Youth.

The cathedral's spire was engulfed in flames before tumbling over. Video footage from the scene showed fire and smoke spewing from the landmark, one of the world's most populare tourist destinations. The flames appeared to be shooting out of the roof behind the nave of the cathedral. Officials, tourists and locals took to social media to document the blaze.

"A terrible fire is underway at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris," Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Twitter. "We are mobilized on site in close connection with the @dioceseParis. I invite everyone to respect the perimeter of security."

The cause was not immediately known, but officials said it could be linked to renovation work. The cathedral is in the midst of a $6.8 million renovation project.

Paris, France, Apr 15, 2019 / 11:33 am (CNA).- The Cathedrale Notre-Dame is on fire, according to the Paris fire department. Multiple eyewitnesses shared photos and videos of the cathedral with visible plumes of smoke and flames across the cathedral’s roof.

Firefighters responded to an alarm rasied shortly before 7pm, April 15.The fire comes after several weeks of vandalism and arson attacks on church buildings across France.

French President Emmanuel Macron released a statement on Twitter expressing the "emotion" of "the whole nation."

Macron said his thoughts were with all Catholics and French citizens.

"Like all our compatriots, tonight I am sad to see a part of [all of] us burn."

#Vatican says with “shock and sadness” it received news of the “terrible fire” at #NotreDame, “symbol of Christianity in France and in the world.” Expresses closeness to the French Catholics, Parisians, and assures prayers for firefighters & all in this “dramatic situation”

https://zenit.org/articles/holy-see-expresses-shock-and-sadness-at-notre-dame-cathedral-fire/Statement by Director ‘ad interim’ of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro GisottiApril 15, 2019 21:51The Holy See has received with shock and sadness the news of the terrible fire that devastated the Notre Dame Cathedral, the symbol of Christianity in France and worldwide. We express our closeness to the French Catholics and the population of Paris and assure you of our prayers for the firefighters and how many are doing their best to cope with this tragic situation.

Himself a Frenchman (born in Rennes, once a seminarian in Paris), as the 700 year-old symbol of Catholicism's “eldest daughter” burns into the night, Pope’s US Nuncio +Christophe Pierre to Whispers on Notre-Dame fire: “I am so sad.”

Message from Bishop Michel Aupetit to the Priests of Paris April 15, 2019 22:07

Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris issued the following plea the evening of April 15, 2019, in response to the fire engulfing the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris:

“The firefighters of Paris are still fighting to save the towers of Notre-Dame de Paris. The frame, the roof, and the spire are consumed. Let us pray. If you wish, you can ring the bells of your churches to invite prayer.”

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild Notre Dame as the historic cathedral continued to burn in a blaze that could last days.

“I say this to you solemnly this evening: we will rebuild this cathedral. All together,” Macron said in a televised address.

“And it is certainly a part of our destiny as France and our project for years to come.”

Macron thanked the hundreds of firefighters working to put out the inferno, adding that they will continue to battle the blaze “for hours and several days.”

A fundraising effort will be launched nationally on Tuesday, Macron announced, adding that he would seek help internationally.Authorities say the structure of Notre-Dame has been saved, though much of the 850-year-old cathedral’s roof and its spire have been destroyed.

Major fire ravages Paris’s iconic Cathedral of Notre DameInés San Martín Apr 15, 2019Dozens of statues were removed last week ahead of the restoration. However, invaluable relics and pieces of art remain inside the building, reason why firefighters were trying to control the fire while trying to save as much as possible of the structure, defined by many as a “forest of columns.”

Among other things, Notre Dame houses what is believed to be the Crown of Thorns and a piece of the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. Both had been acquired by King Louis IX in the middle ages, and kept in the cathedral treasury.

Traditionally, on the first Friday of every month the Holy Relics were exposed for veneration and adoration by the faithful before the cathedral’s high altar. Every Good Friday, this adoration lasted all day, punctuated by the liturgical offices. According to Le Figaro and Le Monde, the firefighters believe there’s a risk of the entire building collapsing due to the flames.

Journalist Nicolas Delesalle of Paris Match reported that the relics and all the “movable” art of the cathedral had been saved.

French billionaire pledges more than $100M to help rebuild Notre Dame cathedral By Chris PerezApril 15, 2019 | 8:46pm

François-Henri Pinault — chairman and CEO of Kering, the French-based luxury group behind Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and other world-renowned brands — has pledged over $110 million towards the rebuilding of the Notre Dame cathedral.

Pinault, who is married to actress Salma Hayek, said in a statement that he plans to pay through his family’s investment firm, Artemis, for any work that needs to be done following Monday’s catastrophic fire, according to AFP.

The visit was announced by ad interim director of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, who noted that the encounter also offered Pope Francis the opportunity, “with particular affection”, to wish Benedict a happy 92nd birthday.

Joseph Ratzinger was elected to the papacy in 2005 just three days after his 78th birthday, making him one of the oldest popes at the time of his election.https://twitter.com/FatherRosicaThomas Rosica Retweeted Austen Ivereigh‏ @austeni · 9h 9 hours ago

Notre Dame fire: Pope Francis expresses closeness, assures prayers16 April 2019, 10:49Smoke rises around the main altar and cross inside Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral Pope Francis is praying for the Catholics of France, as well as for the people of Paris and all those striving to cope with the fire that ravaged the Cathedral of Notre Dame on Monday evening.By Devin Watkins

In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Alessandro Gisotti, the interim Director of the Vatican Press Office, expressed Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of France.

The Pope, he said, is praying for “all those who are striving to cope with this tragic situation.”

Soon after the blaze started on Monday evening, Gisotti tweeted the Holy See’s “shock and sadness”, calling the Cathedral of Notre Dame “a symbol of Christianity in France and in the world”.

Pope at General Audience: Glorifying and trusting in the Father amid trials17 April 2019, 12:56Pope Francis at the General Audience of April 17, 2019. (ANSA)At Wednesday's General Audience, Pope Francis continues his catechesis on the “Our Father”, focusing on three prayers of Christ during His passion and death. By Robin Gomes

In his General Audience, Pope Francis delivered a catechesis on the “Our Father”, focusing on the Lord’s Prayer in the light of the Holy Week, when Catholics around the world commemorate the solemn mysteries of the passion, death and glorious resurrection of Jesus. He picked out three prayers of Jesus to the Father during His passion.

16 April 2019, The Tablet China invites Vatican to have pavilion at Beijing garden exhibition by Catholic News ServiceAt 200 square meters (2,153 square feet), the Holy See pavilion will feature flooring that replicates the marble and cobblestone compass in the middle of St. Peter's Square called "The Wind Rose," marking the different compass points and wind directions.

There will be a fountain, a greenhouse equipped with lights that accelerate plant growth, orchids donated by the Dutch government, two manuscripts from the Vatican Library illustrating medicinal uses of plants and herbs, and a large photographic replica of the early 19th-century painting, "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden," by the Flemish artist Peter Wenzel.

Cardinal Ravasi said when they enlarged an image of the painting for the replica, they found that among the more than 200 animals in the scene, a tiny bird had been drawn, but left unfinished. They planned on letting kids look for, like a treasure hunt, the incomplete creature and ask them to submit their own coloured version of the bird for a contest.

With its pavilion, the Vatican also hopes to promote Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," he said.

He said the total cost for the pavilion project was under 1 million euro (US$1.13 million), which, he said, represents "a minimal investment with a very significant outcome" for the Chinese people and for the Holy See.

Saved from the flames: The treasures that survived the Notre Dame fireThe North Rose window at Notre Dame cathedral dates from 1250. Credit: ShutterstockParis, France, Apr 16, 2019 / 08:00 pm (CNA).- When the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Parish caught fire Monday, most predicted the worst. It seemed unlikely the structure could survive, or that some of the treasures inside might be saved.

Indeed, a full two-thirds of the cathedral’s roof was destroyed in the blaze, as was the famous spire. But despite the images of devastation, the cathedral’s main structure has been saved, along with many of its most priceless contentsWhile the images of the exterior suggested nearly total devastation, inside the cathedral’s vaulted stone ceiling mostly held, and protected many of the cathedral's religious and historical treasures from the flames.

Notre-Dame de Paris is home to several irreplaceable relics, most notably the crown of thorns, a piece of the true cross, and one of the nails used in the crucifixion. There are also many relics of French saints.

While a final inventory of what survived the fire may take weeks to compile, much good news has already been announced.

Relics and art were saved

Despite the speed with which the fire appeared to spread across the cathedral, a standing emergency plan was in place to save the most important relics and artwork in case of a disaster, and it appears as though that plan was largely executed effectively.

The majority of the relics were rescued from the fire in what the Paris mayor described as a “formidable human chain.”

Fr. Jean-Marc Fournier, the chaplain of the Paris Fire Department, accompanied firefighters into the cathedral to rescue the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle.

There were, however, several relics stored in the spire of the cathedral, including one of the thorns from the crown of thorns. These are believed to have been destroyed along with the spire.

Bells of French cathedrals ring in tribute to Notre DameSylvie Corbet and Nicolas Vaux-Montagny Apr 18, 2019(Credit: Gigarama.ru via AP.)PARIS - Bells of cathedrals across France rang in a moving tribute Wednesday to Notre Dame as firefighters and experts continued to keep the beloved but weakened landmark under close surveillance.

From Sacre Coeur in Paris to the cities of Strasbourg in the east and Rouen in the west, the architectural treasures of France solemnly marked the inferno, two days after it ravaged the gothic cathedral, widely regarded as the soul of France.

“I just arrived for the first ring of the bells and immediately there was an emotion. Incredible, indescribable, I just can’t explain it,” said Nadia Pascassio-Comte, in Strasbourg. “It was beautiful and sad at the same time. I had tears in my eyes at one point, and I think that this solidarity is magical, it really unites a lot of people.”

Fire chaplain helped save religious artifacts from burning cathedral By Catholic News Service 4.17.2019 3:30 PM ET CNS photo/Paul HaringPARIS (CNS) -- A hero emerging from the Notre Dame Cathedral fire April 15 is Father Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, who is credited with saving a reliquary containing the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament from the burning cathedral.

The fire chaplain reportedly demanded to be allowed into the cathedral along with firefighters to retrieve the cathedral's relics.

"Father Fournier is an absolute hero," a member of the Paris fire department told reporters April 16, adding that the priest showed "no fear at all as he made straight for the relics inside the cathedral, and made sure they were saved. He deals with life and death every day and shows no fear."

The priest was said to be at the top, or "hot end" of the human chain that included city workers and church caretakers who entered the burning cathedral to save irreplaceable religious items and pieces of art.Video at the linkhttps://onepeterfive.com/interview-with-the-french-priest-who-saved-the-blessed-sacrament-crown-of-thorns-from-notre-dame-cathedral/Interview With the French Priest Who Saved the Blessed Sacrament & Crown of Thorns from Notre Dame Cathedral Steve Skojec April 18, 2019The time when the fire attacked the northern bell tower and we started to fear losing it, was exactly the time when I rescued the Blessed Sacrament. And I did not want to simply leave with Jesus: I took the opportunity to perform a Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.

Here I am completely alone in the cathedral, in the middle of burning debris falling down from the ceiling, I call upon Jesus to help us save His home.

President Trump phones Pope over Notre Dame fire18 April 2019, 08:40Cathedral of Notre Dame following a devastating fire (AFP or licensors)Pope Francis received a phone call on Wednesday afternoon from the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who, referring to the devastation of Notre Dame Cathedral, expressed his closeness to the Pope on behalf of the American people. Alessandro Gisotti, interim director of the Holy See's Press Office, made the declaration in a Tweet on Wednesday evening.

Washington D.C., Apr 17, 2019 / 01:10 pm (CNA).- President Donald Trump and Pope Francis spoke on the phone Wednesday afternoon, with the president pledging to assist with the rebuilding of Notre-Dame de Paris.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with His Holiness Pope Francis. The President offered his condolences for the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, one of Europe’s most important religious structures,” said a readout of the call from Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Trump also commented on the Cathedral’s “amazing beauty and great symbolism.”